begun to ache again, and that she thought she’d better lie down for a while. He hadn’t protested, simply because her excuse was plausible enough.
So he merely said that he would see her up to her room, then took her uninjured hand so he could transport her up to the ninth floor where her suite was located. It wouldn’t do to have her climb all those stairs; the movement would jostle her damaged shoulder far too much.
Madison’s stared at him in astonishment as they reappeared in front of the door to her room. “How…?”
“It is how we travel,” he said. “I would have brought you down in the same way, but you had already left your room. I thought this would be easier for you. Walking up all those steps could have jarred your shoulder. ”
“I suppose you have a point.” She stopped and looked all around them, as if she still wasn’t quite certain of her surroundings. “Thank you for breakfast, Qadim.”
“You are very welcome. What would you like for your midday meal?”
“Oh, I — ” Seeming a little flustered, she shook her head. He tried not to stare at the way those rose gold curls bounced against her shoulders and then fell down her back. “Breakfast was so big, I’m not sure I’d want lunch, especially since I might end up sleeping right through it. Can we just skip ahead to dinner?”
“Of course.”
She offered him a quick smile and went inside, then closed the door behind her with a soft snick of the lock. For a moment, he lingered outside, but he knew he could not stand there forever. She would emerge when she was ready. And, as she had said, she did need to get her rest.
So he went downstairs and cleared away their breakfast dishes. Not using his djinn powers, but carrying the plates and mugs into the kitchen so he could set them in the sink. Eventually he would snap his fingers and send them, sparkling clean, into their respective cupboards. For now, though, he left them all behind so he could stand in the front entrance of the hotel and gaze at his handiwork.
It was a fine day, the sun out, a brisk breeze blowing through the grasses and trees he had planted, light glinting as their leaves glistened in the wind. Qadim breathed in deeply, hoping the fresh air might help to clear his thoughts, but no matter what he did, he could only think of Madison lying upstairs in bed. Would she be asleep already, lulled into slumber by the meal she’d eaten and her body’s own need for rest? Or would she be lying awake, thinking of everything he had told her?
Perhaps it had been a mistake to mention Los Alamos. He’d seen the way she’d grown quiet and thoughtful afterward, although she’d done her best to hide her reaction. It was only natural that she would yearn to be with others of her own kind. After all, she had just spent more than a year alone.
But she was not alone now. She had company. His company. Should that not be enough?
Then he wanted to shake his head at himself. Through the millennia, many djinn women had been glad enough to spend time with him, but their pleasure in his company should not have given him such an inflated sense of his own attractions that he believed they could outweigh the lure of a chance to be among one’s own people.
Perhaps he could change that. Perhaps he could show her that she would do very well to be with him. And then when he had tired of her, he could take her to Los Alamos himself — or at least as near as he could without being affected by one of Miles Odekirk’s infernal devices. Madison should be able to traverse that last half mile without too much trouble.
He saw no reason why he would not tire of her at some point, since that had been the eventual outcome in all of his previous liaisons. Anyway, it was better that they should enjoy one another for a time and then part ways before things grew sour, or he became bored.
Of course, that particular scenario was predicated on the belief that she would eventually succumb to him, and she
So he merely said that he would see her up to her room, then took her uninjured hand so he could transport her up to the ninth floor where her suite was located. It wouldn’t do to have her climb all those stairs; the movement would jostle her damaged shoulder far too much.
Madison’s stared at him in astonishment as they reappeared in front of the door to her room. “How…?”
“It is how we travel,” he said. “I would have brought you down in the same way, but you had already left your room. I thought this would be easier for you. Walking up all those steps could have jarred your shoulder. ”
“I suppose you have a point.” She stopped and looked all around them, as if she still wasn’t quite certain of her surroundings. “Thank you for breakfast, Qadim.”
“You are very welcome. What would you like for your midday meal?”
“Oh, I — ” Seeming a little flustered, she shook her head. He tried not to stare at the way those rose gold curls bounced against her shoulders and then fell down her back. “Breakfast was so big, I’m not sure I’d want lunch, especially since I might end up sleeping right through it. Can we just skip ahead to dinner?”
“Of course.”
She offered him a quick smile and went inside, then closed the door behind her with a soft snick of the lock. For a moment, he lingered outside, but he knew he could not stand there forever. She would emerge when she was ready. And, as she had said, she did need to get her rest.
So he went downstairs and cleared away their breakfast dishes. Not using his djinn powers, but carrying the plates and mugs into the kitchen so he could set them in the sink. Eventually he would snap his fingers and send them, sparkling clean, into their respective cupboards. For now, though, he left them all behind so he could stand in the front entrance of the hotel and gaze at his handiwork.
It was a fine day, the sun out, a brisk breeze blowing through the grasses and trees he had planted, light glinting as their leaves glistened in the wind. Qadim breathed in deeply, hoping the fresh air might help to clear his thoughts, but no matter what he did, he could only think of Madison lying upstairs in bed. Would she be asleep already, lulled into slumber by the meal she’d eaten and her body’s own need for rest? Or would she be lying awake, thinking of everything he had told her?
Perhaps it had been a mistake to mention Los Alamos. He’d seen the way she’d grown quiet and thoughtful afterward, although she’d done her best to hide her reaction. It was only natural that she would yearn to be with others of her own kind. After all, she had just spent more than a year alone.
But she was not alone now. She had company. His company. Should that not be enough?
Then he wanted to shake his head at himself. Through the millennia, many djinn women had been glad enough to spend time with him, but their pleasure in his company should not have given him such an inflated sense of his own attractions that he believed they could outweigh the lure of a chance to be among one’s own people.
Perhaps he could change that. Perhaps he could show her that she would do very well to be with him. And then when he had tired of her, he could take her to Los Alamos himself — or at least as near as he could without being affected by one of Miles Odekirk’s infernal devices. Madison should be able to traverse that last half mile without too much trouble.
He saw no reason why he would not tire of her at some point, since that had been the eventual outcome in all of his previous liaisons. Anyway, it was better that they should enjoy one another for a time and then part ways before things grew sour, or he became bored.
Of course, that particular scenario was predicated on the belief that she would eventually succumb to him, and she
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